Nearly 15 years after filing a lawsuit alleging that two nuclear fuel processing plants in Armstrong County caused a high incidence of cancer in a small community, more than 300 plaintiffs will finally see an end to the litigation.

Babcock & Wilcox, which ran the plants that made nuclear fuel for ships and submarines in Apollo and Parks Township from 1971 to 1983, has agreed to settle the case for $52.5 million.

That money will cover 245 claims for either personal injury or wrongful death, as well as 125 separate claims asserting property damage.

Chief U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose approved the settlement on Friday.

The well-known plaintiffs' lawyer who filed the lawsuit did not live to see it to conclusion. Fred Baron, 61, died from cancer in October at his home in Dallas.

The initial lawsuit brought by 10 residents in the area was filed in federal court in 1994 against both Babcock & Wilcox and Atlantic Richfield Co., which owned the plants from 1967 until it sold them to Babcock in 1971.

Judge Ambrose ordered that the case go to trial on the claims of eight plaintiffs in August 1998. A jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs of $36.7 million.

However, Judge Ambrose later ordered that a new trial be held based on the assessment that multiple errors improperly swayed the jury. It never got to that, though.

The case was put on hold for several years after Babcock & Wilcox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000. Then, last year, Atlantic Richfield settled its claims for $27.5 million.

The case against Babcock was slated to go to trial in January, but both sides requested a delay because they were in settlement negotiations.

The mediator overseeing the negotiation process in a letter recommending Judge Ambrose approve the settlement said the case was one of the most challenging he's ever worked on as a mediator.

In a 15-page recommendation, retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Daniel H. Weinstein wrote that there were risks to both sides if they went to trial, but he enumerated several for the defense.

The company would have to defend its operation of these facilities in a residential community for decades. In addition, Judge Weinstein wrote, there was a potential for a verdict against Babcock & Wilcox that could approach $1 billion.